"Queen b*tch as usual" - Maureen Callahan slams Meghan Markle's Bloomberg interview, calls it "free publicity" for allegedly "sh*t" Netflix show

Critic Maureen Callahan disparaged Meghan Markle's recent Bloomberg interview as awkward and "free publicity" for her "sh*t" Netflix show. The interview was made to promote the second season of Markle's lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan.

In a September 3 episode of The Nerve with Maureen Callahan, she described Meghan's conversation with journalist Emily Chang as one of the most "sycophantic" and "embarrassing" interviews she'd seen. Callahan said Chang lobbed "softball" questions and did "a lot of body language work" to win the Duchess's affection, so the interview lacked journalistic credibility.

A key point of frustration for Maureen Callahan was Markle's answer to a question on when she felt "least Duchess of Sussex." Markle replied,

"Sitting here eating a smash burger with you, being asked these questions."

Maureen Callahan took this to mean that Meghan Markle's response was a disparagement of the opportunity for self-promotion, questioning whether Markle was ready and calling her a "malignant narcissist."

"Here she is being queen b*tch as usual... She's still searching for answers to the most basic questions about who she is and why the world perceives her again as a queen b*tch...F**k you, Megan. This is free publicity for your Shi*t show over on Netflix that even over there, they know is a loser."

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Meghan Markle's "real" show aims to meet critical and viewer backlash

The discussion also delved into Meghan Markle's experiences as a working royal. The Duchess of Sussex said she felt certain protocols, like being required to "wear nude pantyhose all the time," were "inauthentic" and that she was unable to be her true self. Markle said that now, she is comfortable "just being myself."

Maureen Callahan reserved special ire for what she called Markle's "self-help jargon," such as the phrase "anchor into your own knowing." She criticized that as "gobbledegook" and stated:

"People who know who they are think that there are a hell of a lot more important things in this world than that."

The criticism also spread to the viewership performance of Meghan Markle's show on Netflix. Callahan said the new season of With Love, Meghan "did not even dent the top 10" when it came out and found itself 383rd on Netflix's watch list.

An article published by People magazine on September 3 provided a lighter look at the project and even included a blooper reel from Markle, who said:

"We're not going for perfect, we're going for real."

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UK press commentary of the second season of the Netflix show was mostly negative, with outlets such as The Telegraph and The Times using terms like "needy," "self-indulgent," and "tone deaf." This stood contrary to the supposed aims of the show, as Meghan Markle communicated to People, which was to be “about doing what you can do, and doing it with love.”